The present invention relates to floor maintenance machines and specifically to a new and novel construction of a brush device adapted for detachable connection to a floor maintenance machine of the type particularly suited for use in commercial, institutional and industrial floor maintenance applications such as cleaning, buffing, burnishing and polishing. For example, this type of machine is disclosed in Applicant's prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,391,548 entitled "Coupling Device for Floor Maintenance Machines". In such machines a series of cleaning pads are typically utilized having various abrasive characteristics that are rotated upon actuation of the machine to perform various maintenance operations including buffing, burnishing, spray-buffing, polishing, and the like. Such pad-type cleaning equipment is also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,293,973 wherein the cleaning pad is detachably mounted on the pad holder via a series of polymeric (plastic) bristles. Though satisfactory for many applications such pad-type cleaning systems are not entirely satisfactory in all respects. For example, after a period of time the pads utilized in such systems tend to lose their abrasive characteristics and tend to wear particularly after long term work applications. Accordingly, as the pads lose their abrasive quality and experience a general wearing tendency they are rendered unsuitable for their intended applications. In addition, it has been recognized that such pads are not especially convenient to use and are oftentimes difficult to center and maintain in proper functional position during relatively high-speed operations on irregular or non-smooth surfaces. Further, such pads can be said to be somewhat difficult to clean and maintain and are relatively time consuming and very expensive to replace.
Accordingly, because of the problems attendant with pad-type systems various types of brushes have been used with floor cleaning equipment, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,305,234. However, such brush designs have not been found to be entirely satisfactory for buffing, burnishing and polishing applications. It is recognized, therefore, that there is a need for a floor cleaning device that will not only allow for the easy maintenance of a work surface such as a floor or the like in the fashion of a buffing, burnishing and polishing pad but for a device that is easy to use, reliable in performance and relatively inexpensive to produce and maintain.